We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!

Dark Side of the Earth

2024/12/13

Radiolab

AI Deep Dive AI Insights AI Chapters Transcript

People

Dave Wolf

Topics

Dave Wolf讲述了他在太空行走中经历的极端明暗对比，以及一次差点丧命的惊险经历。在米尔空间站执行任务期间，他和俄罗斯宇航员Anatoly Solovyev进行太空行走，在漆黑的宇宙中，他们经历了极端的黑暗和光明，每45分钟就会经历一次从强光到黑暗的循环。在一次任务中，气闸发生故障，他们被困在飞船外部，面临缺氧和二氧化碳中毒的危险。在经过数小时的努力后，他们最终想出了一个办法，利用相邻的舱室作为临时气闸，成功返回飞船。这次经历让他们体会到了太空任务的危险性，也让他们更加珍惜彼此之间的友谊。 Anatoly Solovyev作为Dave Wolf的太空行走搭档，与他一起经历了太空行走中的种种挑战。在一次紧急情况下，他们一起想办法克服了气闸故障，成功返回飞船。在太空的宁静时刻，他们一起欣赏了宇宙的壮丽景色，感受到了宇宙的浩瀚与神秘。

Deep Dive

Key Insights

What was the speed at which Dave Wolf and Anatoly Solovyev were traveling during their spacewalk?

They were traveling at 5 miles per second, which is 16 times faster than the speed of Earth's rotation.

How did the contrast between light and dark affect Dave Wolf during his spacewalk?

Every 45 minutes, they experienced a rapid transition from absolute darkness on the night side of Earth to blazing light as the sun appeared, creating an extreme contrast that could disorient astronauts.

What was the main issue Dave Wolf and Anatoly Solovyev faced when trying to re-enter the Mir space station?

They couldn't get the airlock to re-pressurize, leaving them locked out and running out of resources like carbon dioxide scrubbing units.

What was the consequence of disconnecting their umbilicals during the emergency re-entry attempt?

Disconnecting the umbilicals cut off their cooling systems, causing them to potentially overheat and boil inside their spacesuits within minutes.

How did Dave Wolf describe the feeling of floating in space during his peaceful moment with Anatoly?

He felt so comfortable that it was as if he wasn't wearing a spacesuit, creating a surreal and serene experience.

What was the temperature change Dave Wolf experienced during the sunrise on his spacewalk?

The temperature increased by upwards of 400 degrees in an instant as the sun appeared.

What was the significance of the picture of Dave Wolf's family during the emergency re-entry?

It was a poignant moment as he realized he might be facing his last moments alive, seeing the picture of his family as he crawled through the space station.

How did the audience recreate the peaceful moment of floating in space during the live show?

The audience held tiny lights above their heads, creating a canopy of stars that mirrored the experience Dave and Anatoly had in space.

What was the main cause of disorientation during Dave Wolf's spacewalk?

The rapid transitions between light and dark every 45 minutes, combined with the extreme speed of their orbit, made it easy to lose orientation.

What was the final solution Dave Wolf and Anatoly Solovyev used to re-enter the Mir space station?

They disconnected their umbilicals and attempted to use an adjacent module as a makeshift airlock to re-enter the station.

Chapters

Astronaut Dave Wolf recounts his first spacewalk, highlighting the extreme contrast between the light and dark sides of Earth. He describes the pure, absolute darkness he encountered and the sudden, intense light of the sunrise, emphasizing the surreal experience of moving at such high speeds.

Extreme contrast between light and dark in space
Pure, absolute darkness on the night side of Earth
Sunrise as an intensely bright, sudden experience
Speed of travel in space and its impact on perception

Shownotes Transcript

Back in 2012, when we were putting together our live show In the Dark, Jad and Robert called up Dave Wolf to ask him if he had any stories about darkness. And boy, did he. Dave told us two stories that became the finale of our show.

Back in late 1997, Dave Wolf was on his first spacewalk, to perform work on the Mir (the photo to the right was taken during that mission, courtesy of NASA.). Dave wasn't alone -- with him was veteran Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev. (That's a picture of Dave giving Anatoly a hug on board the Mir, also courtesy of NASA).

Out in blackness of space, the contrast between light and dark is almost unimaginably extreme -- every 45 minutes, you plunge between absolute darkness on the night-side of Earth, and blazing light as the sun screams into view. Dave and Anatoly were tethered to the spacecraft, traveling 5 miles per second. That's 16 times faster than we travel on Earth's surface as it rotates -- so as they orbited, they experienced 16 nights and 16 days for every Earth day.

Dave's description of his first spacewalk was all we could've asked for, and more. But what happened next ... well, it's just one of those stories that you always hope an astronaut will tell. Dave and Anatoly were ready to call it a job and head back into the Mir when something went wrong with the airlock. They couldn't get it to re-pressurize. In other words, they were locked out. After hours of trying to fix the airlock, they were running out of the resources that kept them alive in their space suits and facing a grisly death. So, they unhooked their tethers, and tried one last desperate move.

In the end, they made it through, and Dave went on to perform dozens more spacewalks in the years to come, but he never again experienced anything like those harrowing minutes trying to improvise his way back into the Mir.

After that terrifying tale, Dave told us about another moment he and Anatoly shared, floating high above Earth, staring out into the universe ... a moment so beautiful, and peaceful, we decided to use the audience recreate it, as best we could, for the final act of our live show.We have some exciting news! In the “Zoozve)” episode, Radiolab named its first-ever quasi-moon, and now it's your turn! Radiolab has teamed up with The International Astronomical Union to launch a global naming contest for one of Earth’s quasi-moons. This is your chance to make your mark on the heavens. Vote on your favorites, here: https://radiolab.org/moon)

Signup for our newsletter!!. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up) (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab) (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram), Twitter) and Facebook) @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected]).

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Dark Side of the Earth 24:04 Share